Latest news with #booking
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Marriott CEO Says More Consumers Wait Until the Last Minute to Book
Marriott International Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tony Capuano said consumers are still signing up for travel but just waiting longer to book hotel rooms. For leisure and work travel, the window for securing a hotel room before a trip is less than 21 days, Capuano said Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg Television. And that's left hotel executives Capuano spoke with at the NYU International Hospitality Investment Forum 2025 wondering whether current trends will hold.
Hospitality Net
26-05-2025
- Business
- Hospitality Net
Conversion-First Design: What Every Hotel Website Must Fix in 2025
Intro In today's highly competitive hospitality market, a hotel's website is far more than a digital brochure. It is a key sales tool, brand ambassador, and often the first impression a guest has of your property. This article covers common web design and content mistakes and offers practical solutions to improve conversions of your website and boost your online presence in 2025 and beyond. Technical Foundations: Speed, Mobile, and Security Ensure Fast Loading Time Studies show that websites loading longer than three seconds experience significantly higher bounce rates. Many hotel sites still use large, uncompressed images or outdated booking engines that slow them down. Compressing images using modern formats like WebP and implementing lazy loading can speed up your site and improve guest retention. Ensure Fast Loading Time— Source: Exely Optimize for Mobile Devices Over two-thirds of bookings in Asia come from mobile devices. Websites that are not fully responsive or hard to navigate on small screens lose potential revenue. That's why mobile-first design, with thumb-friendly buttons and simple booking steps, is extremely important. For example, some hotel groups saw nearly 20% more mobile bookings after making navigation easier to use. Optimize for Mobile Devices— Source: Exely Secure Your Site with Certificates Security warnings scare off potential guests. Still, many hotel websites in CIS countries don't have proper SSL/TLS certificates. By automating certificate renewals and ensuring all third-party widgets use secure protocols, hotels can prevent browser alerts and build trust with visitors. Secure Your Site with Certificates — Source: Exely User Experience: Navigation, Booking Engine, and Scarcity Signals Create Clear, Intuitive Navigation Confusing menus make visitors give up. Research shows many hotel websites bury crucial information like room rates under multiple clicks. Using sticky menus with persistent 'Room Rates' and 'Special Offers' tabs helps guests find what they need fast and without hassle. Integrate the Booking Engine Booking engines that redirect guests to external pages or look different from the main site lead to lost bookings. Embedded booking widgets showing real-time availability and matching the website's style make the process smoother. For example, some hotels managed to increase booking by more than 30% after investing in a booking engine. Use Genuine Scarcity Signals Messages like 'Only 1 room left!' when plenty of rooms are available hurt trust. Synchronizing scarcity cues with PMS data makes urgency credible and encourages bookings without pushing guests away. Content Strategy: Localization and Visuals Localizate for Markets Many travelers want to see prices in their local currency and read content in their local language. Offering geolocated content that switches currency and provides payment info based on where guests come from significantly improves user experience and boosts conversion rates. Leverage High-Quality Visuals Professional photos matter. According to the study, hotels that show more than 20 high-quality photos per room see up to 136% more bookings. Pictures help guests imagine their stay and often make them willing to pay more. Adding video tours and virtual walkthroughs further immerses visitors and deepens their interest. How to Make Your Hotel Website Special Even with a fast and easy-to-use website, standing out in crowded markets requires creativity. Here's how to make your property different. Create Location-Specific Guides Build free practical guides that solve guest pain points. City hotels: Offer downloadable PDFs like '5 Hidden Cafés Locals Love' or 'Weekend Walking Tour Map.' Beach resorts: Share guides on snorkeling spots, sunset views, or family activitie. Example: A hotel in Baku increased bookings by 18% after adding a '24 Hours in Baku' guide with metro tips and restaurant highlights. Highlight What Makes You Different Most hotel websites use the same words like 'luxurious' and 'excellent service.' Instead, highlight what makes your hotel special. Heritage properties: Share the building's history in a video. Eco-resorts: Show certifications like Earth Check or Green Key and explain how guests support local communities. Boutique hotels: Introduce staff, for example, with a 'Meet Our Chef' activity Leverage Local Partnerships Guests often book tours through others that you can offer yourself. Work with local businesses and share special deals. Mountain hotels: Promote private hiking guides with lunch packs. City hotels: Partner with museums for skip-the-line tickets. Resorts: Offer discounted spa packages combined with nearby restaurants. Conclusion Improving your website's technical performance matters, but true success comes from creativity. Unique content, personalized experiences, and genuine local partnerships turn your site into more than a booking tool. They help you engage guests, build excitement, and earn loyalty. Focus on these elements to make your hotel stand out and attract more bookings. At Exely, we specialize in creating hotel websites that combine effective conversion strategies with memorable branding. Whether you choose a template site or custom development, we make sure your website captures the unique spirit of your property. Anna Belash Chief Marketing Officer Exely
Times
21-05-2025
- Times
Why can't I check in online? The possible reasons explained
Part of the ritual of a holiday flight is getting to check in online before you go to the airport. It's that window of opportunity where you can choose your preferred spot — ideally swerving the toilets and the squeezed middle seat. But once in a while you'll get a notification to say you have to check in at the airport instead, and no matter how many times you try, the system just won't budge. Your mind might flicker to the worst-case scenario, but there's often a simple reason for it. Flights are often operated on a codeshare basis, which means the airline you booked with might not necessarily be the one you're flying with. So while you might get an email asking you to check in, you won't be able to do it on the website of the airline you booked with — instead, you'll need to check in via the website of the airline operating the flight. Look through your emails: there's usually a second booking reference somewhere that mentions the codeshare partner, and this is the one you'll need to use on the codeshare partner's website. Glitches on websites and apps happen all the time, whether through human error, a system update or incompatibility with your device. If you're denied online check-in, it might be worth retrying a few hours later or on a different device. Sometimes, you might find that you're able to check in online using a laptop, but not your phone or tablet. Airlines often oversell flights so that when passengers fail to turn up, or switch their booking to another date, they have spares to fill up those empty seats. The downside, of course, is that when everyone does show up there aren't enough seats — so they have to bump some passengers on to another flight. So if you can't check in online, it may be a sign that you're being held back. In some cases, a space can become available at the last minute, which is why you're then able to check in at the airport as if nothing's happened. Apart from an overbooked flight, there are lots of operational reasons why there are no longer enough seats available. This might include a change of aircraft, meaning that there are now too many passengers, or that some pre-allocated seats are no longer available. You may also be bumped from the flight to allow crew on standby to travel instead. For long-haul destinations, especially flights to the US, you often need to fill in additional passenger information before you travel. In the case of the US, for example, this includes whether you're travelling on an Esta or a visa, and where you're staying. Some destinations will also require you to submit your passport details before you travel. It's always worth checking whether you need to submit any additional documents or information after your booking, as it may be too late by the time you check in. • What is the EU's new entry system and what will it mean for my holiday?• Etias travel permit: what is it and when does it start? Depending on your destination, airlines may need to carry out additional checks, such as whether you have the right visa or if your passport is still valid, which can only be done in person at the airport. This applies to all passengers. In some cases, you might be singled out for additional checks because you've been flagged as suspicious. Reasons might include: if you have more than one passport, if you're a certain nationality, if your flight was booked at the very last minute, if your flight was booked by someone else, or if you have the same name as a person of interest. And if you're travelling alone with children, you might also be flagged if you have a different surname to them. You'll need to carry additional documents, such as a birth certificate and letter of consent from the other parent, to satisfy border concerns around child abduction and trafficking. • What happens if I miss my flight because of security queues?• Can I get a refund if my flight or holiday is cancelled?
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Travelgate and Mize Announce Strategic Alliance to Launch SmartRate Integration, Boosting Booking Profitability for Global Partners
MALLORCA, Spain and TEL AVIV, Israel, May 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of ConX 2025, Travelgate's flagship industry event kicking off next week, Travelgate, the leading Connectivity Marketplace in the travel industry, and Mize, the global leader in fintech-based travel products, are excited to announce a strategic alliance. This collaboration brings Mize's innovative SmartRate product to Travelgate's extensive global network of travel partners. SmartRate maximizes margins at the booking moment by automatically securing the best available rate and transforming booking flow disruptions into profit, all without manual intervention. This marks a significant step forward in Travelgate's commitment to delivering value-added tools to both Buyers and Sellers on its platform. The implementation of SmartRate will enable Travelgate's clients to maximize their margins, recover from connectivity disruptions, and secure the lowest-cost bookings in real time, all while maintaining a seamless user experience. Optimizing Margins in Real Time SmartRate seamlessly integrates into the booking process to automatically scan and apply the lowest available rate across the travel seller's own inventory and Mize's extensive partner network. This allows Travelgate-connected partners to unlock new revenue opportunities by: Recovering errored bookings through smart reprocessing Maximizing profit margins with intelligent rate scanning at the booking moment Enhancing booking reliability through improved search performance and distribution rulesLeveraging Mize's advanced room mapping and external source integration for expanded inventory access "This partnership brings together the strengths of two platforms built on innovation and efficiency," said Dor Krubiner, CEO at Mize. "We're thrilled to collaborate with Travelgate to offer their partners a tool that not only improves operational resilience but also drives profitability with every booking." Reinforcing Travelgate's Mission of Seamless Connectivity Travelgate is trusted by hundreds of leading brands in the travel industry including Expedia, Agoda, Hotelbeds, and British Airways Holidays. By integrating SmartRate, Travelgate continues to expand its offerings to help partners simplify operations, accelerate time-to-market, and maximize performance across their connections. "Our platform was built to remove complexity and open up opportunity," said Pedro Camara, CEO at Travelgate. "SmartRate fits perfectly with that vision, it's a natural addition that empowers our clients to get more out of every booking." Mize at ConX 2025 Mize will be sponsoring this year's AfterX 2025, Travelgate's annual event that brings together key players from across the travel industry. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore SmartRate in action, meet the Mize team, and discover how this powerful integration can transform booking profitability and operational resilience across platforms. As part of the event, Mize CEO Dor Krubiner will be featured as a speaker on one of the top keynote panels: The New Wave of Growth Strategies in B2B Travel, sharing insights on innovation, automation, and the future of travel tech. About Travelgate Travelgate, part of Travelsoft Group, is a next-generation Connectivity Marketplace that enables travel agencies, OTAs, Bedbanks, DMCs, and tour operators to connect seamlessly through one single API. Buyers gain real-time access to a broad range of Sellers with one integration, while Sellers benefit from exposure to a vast global distribution network. Through tools like the Travelgate APP, users can manage connections, monitor performance, generate smart reports, and get instant support—all in one centralized, intuitive platform. For more information, visit About Mize Mize is a global leader in fintech-based solutions, offering AI-driven tools that create extra profit for the hotel booking industry through its fully automated proprietary technology and has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for its partners across its suite of products. With a clear focus on innovation and customer success, Mize serves over 250 clients worldwide, helping them optimize performance and achieve their goals. For more information, visit Photo: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Mize; Travelgate
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Havila Kystruten AS: Trading Update for April 2025
Operational Highlights Occupancy in April was 69%, up 4% compared to April 2024. Average Cabin Revenue (ACR) increased by close to 30% year-over-year. Total ticket revenue grew by over 20% year-over-year, despite reduced available capacity due to Havila Castor being in dry-dock. Booking Position 2025 As of end-April, 60% of 2025 capacity is booked, representing about 80% of the full-year targeted cabin nights. Occupancy for Q2 2025 is at 72% with 1.5 months remaining, compared to a final 69% in Q2 last year. With booking distribution more balanced across north and south routes than last year allowing for further sales closer to departure, and Q4 campaigns starting about three months later, full year occupancy for 2025 is expected to trend higher moving forward. Booking Position 2026 21% of 2026 capacity is already booked at notably higher average prices (ACR) than 2025. Forward bookings support continued revenue growth and EBITDA margin expansion into 2026. *The KPIs provided are sourced from the Company's (unaudited) booking system. Consequently, there may be variations or minor discrepancies in absolute figures and periodization compared to the reported financial statements. Revenue in currency (for ACR) is based on the booking system currency rate. Contacts:Chief Executive Officer: Bent Martini, +47 905 99 650Chief Financial Officer: Aleksander Røynesdal, +47 413 18 114This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading ActError in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
